Baku hails Merkel’s position on Karabakh conflict’s settlement

Baku welcomes position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Aug. 31.

Bilateral and multilateral ties between Azerbaijan and the EU are developing, Hajiyev said.

“The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on July 10 to Brussels at the invitation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to participate in the NATO summit made an important contribution to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU,” Hajiyev noted.

He added that the recent visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Azerbaijan will make an important contribution to the development of relations with both the EU and Germany.

“Azerbaijan supports peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of international law and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” said Hajiyev. “All international efforts, including the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, should be mobilized to ensure the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on this conflict and implement the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Baku welcomes position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Aug. 31.

Bilateral and multilateral ties between Azerbaijan and the EU are developing, Hajiyev said.

“The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on July 10 to Brussels at the invitation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to participate in the NATO summit made an important contribution to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU,” Hajiyev noted.

He added that the recent visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Azerbaijan will make an important contribution to the development of relations with both the EU and Germany.

“Azerbaijan supports peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of international law and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” said Hajiyev. “All international efforts, including the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, should be mobilized to ensure the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on this conflict and implement the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.